Deming border agents know their turf

Tracking methods unique in southern NM

Elena Ruiz — Headlight Photo
United States Border Patrol agent Ramon Rivera and his horse wait for the rest of the mounted patrol to begin patrolling Luna County. The mounted patrols come in handy when tracking in the rugged Southwestern New Mexico desert.

The United States Border Patrol has been protecting our nations' borders since 1924. Their priority mission remains the same, preventing terrorists and terrorist weapons — including weapons of mass destruction — from entering the United States.

"Our agents use modern patrolling — using state of the art technology — in protecting our borders, but we are also unique to this region," said U.S. Border Patrol Deputy Patrol Agent In Charge, Jose Gardea. "Our agents use old border patrol tactics such as ATV, horse patrolling and sign cutting as well."

Sign cutting is the art of finding disturbances in the ground that indicate possible entries made by undocumented immigrants along the U.S.-Mexico border. The term is specific to border patrol agents, although it is a form of tracking, and agents use this in locating those entering the country illegally.

Supervisory Agent Earnest Wilkinson, who has been with the USBP for the past nine years, has spent hours upon hours sign cutting. It is a skill obtained only by countless hours of observation. To the untrained eye, driving past the border fence, a small disturbance of dirt may not indicate much, but to agents like Wilkinson, it is a red alarm.

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On Friday, a group of immigrants were located in the desert by agents using sign cutting skills. Once an agent locates where the entry was made, he or she, tracks the group with assistance of fellow agents on an ATV, horse patrol or a helicopter.

Agents were able to locate and take into custody the group of eight immigrants.

Once in custody, immigrants are taken to the Deming Border Patrol Station for processing.

Those apprehended are processed by agents, searched for contraband, photographed, fingerprinted and read their rights. An in-house prosecution agent oversees the process and determines if the immigrant will be prosecuted based on any prior criminal history.

First time offenders with no criminal history are detained and released to Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for their return to their homeland. Other Than Mexicans, or OTM are residents of other countries, other than Mexico. OTM's are processed along with Mexican Nationals and immediately turned over to ICE to return them to their country of origin.

Locating undocumented immigrants is a priority for agents, however, should a person find themselves requiring any form of rescue, the agents priority changes from apprehension to rescue when lives are at stake.

The Deming Border Patrol has Emergency Medical Technician personnel at their local station. These are agents who have received training as EMTs and are at the ready, when an emergency situation arises.

On Friday, a Guatemalan woman was rescued at approximately 1:20 p.m. when she went into labor and gave birth on State Road 9 at mile marker 90. The woman and an unknown companion were spotted by an agent patrolling the area. The woman had already given birth when the agent arrived on scene. He immediately called for medical assistance and the Border Patrol EMT and the Deming EMS both responded.

The woman and child were transported to Mimbres Memorial Hospital and both were later released in good health to USBP. The woman will be processed and turned over to ICE for a hearing before an immigration judge.

The Deming Border Patrol station has over 400 agents. Of those agents, 12 are women. Gardea said the recruiting for female agents is of great importance for the Border Patrol. Women who apply to join the agency are given no special preference in any form of physical or tactical training for simply being women. The USBP does not distinguish between female or male, they are only referred to as agents.

"Women are encouraged to apply for employment with Border Patrol," said Gardea.

The stereotype or perception that agents are unapproachable or stand-offish is rejected by agents. "We are part of this community and are very involved, not only as agents, but as regular people, "Wilkinson said. "If the public ever has a question or wants to talk to us they only need to say hello,

Speaking of his career with the USBP, Wilkinson said, "I like it a lot. I get to protect the community and my country. It's a big honor to get to do this job."

With nearly 6,000 miles of Mexican and Canadian international borders, agents have an immense responsibility keeping the country's borders safe and secure. Many agents working in the local station are not from the area. These agents commute everyday to Deming from surrounding areas.

"I joined the United States Border Patrol in order to make a difference within the communities of southern New Mexico — the place I call home. I consider it an honor to serve the citizens of the United States by helping maintain the operational security of our nation's borders," said Patrol Agent Derek Mohrhauser. He has been an agent for the past six years.